Both of the boys really like to help in the kitchen.  Any time they can pull their chairs up to the counter to help out, they are happy campers.  Tonight, we made pizza bears or Mickey Mouse Pizza as Billy called them.  The recipe is super easy and fun.  It makes for an easy dinner.  I served the pizza with grapes which the boys love.  The grapes went first then the pizza. Billy’s style was to pick it up just like a slice of pizza. Baden liked to pick off the pepperoni and olives and then eat the pizza.  We had a lot of fun. 

Pizza Biscuit Bears

1 tube (16.3 ounces) large refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

12 slices pepperoni

2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese

12 slices ripe olives

1 tablespoon chopped green pepper

1 jar (12 ounces) sliced pimientos, drained

1 can (8 ounces) pizza sauce, warmed

Separate biscuits; place six biscuits 3 in. apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Cut each remaining biscuit into six pieces; roll each into balls. Attach two balls to each whole biscuit for ears; pinch dough to seal.

Decorate each bear with pepperoni slice on each ear, mozzarella cheese for fur, olive slices for eyes, green pepper for nose and two pimiento strips for mouth. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with pizza sauce. Serves: 6

**The boys like pepperoni and olives so that is all we used, but you could use just about anything that you like on a pizza.   It’s just a fun dinner to make with the kids.

Today was Billy’s first day of school.  This is the real deal. He is in kindergarten! He woke up right at 7:00 am and was ready to start the day.  Bebe made Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes for breakfast.  Then we got ready for the day.  He was a little apprehensive about riding the bus and told me he didn’t want too, but then a few minutes later he told me we have to go or we will miss the bus. The bus came and he jumped out of the car onto the bus.  I didn’t even get a hug.  Then he was off.  I have to admit as I was driving back down to our house from the bus stop the tears started flowing.  Baden was compassionate and gave me his Buzz Lightyear to comfort me.  All day all I could think about was Billy. I wondered what he was doing and how he was.  Then at 3:55, he jumped off the bus and gave me a huge hug.  He was so excited and had a great day. He liked eating school lunch. He got to play on the playground. He played in the house that is in his classroom.  He traced his hand and made a picture.  He made two new friends, but isn’t quite sure of their names. 🙂  He was excited to show me the folders in his back pack and the worksheets he had done.  I was so nervous for him. I had butterflies in my stomach all day.  He told me I have school tomorrow and I am going to ride the bus!  I hope this day is one of many more to come.

Baden is two!  We celebrated with a family party with Bebe and Grandpa coming out from Oklahoma to help celebrate.  Bill wasn’t able to be here as he is in Washington State, so that was a bummer.  Thank goodness for pictures and video.  Baden has been going around all day saying “two” and trying to hold his fingers up to show his age.  He loved opening his presents and got some fun new toys.  He had an Elmo’s World birthday cake which he loved and he even blew out his candles.  Baden is a blessing to our family and we love him so much. He makes us laugh and we love his hugs and kisses. Happy Birthday, Baden!

We took a summer junt up to Utah to celebrate the 24th of July and to attend a family reunion.  We also went camping at Dalton Springs in the Manti-La Sal National Forest.  When we lived in Maryland, we camped at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. There are showers, hot water and flush toilets.  Here in the west, no flush toilets.  There is a nice building with a pit toilet inside.  I have Crohn’s disease so toilets are a major part of my life.  Because Bill cares so  much for me, he got me my very own privacy tent and travel potty.  I have an aversion to pit toilets.  I am afraid I might fall in or something might come out, so having my own outhouse was great.  We were able to take showers at Bill’s mom’s house which was nice.  It’s only five miles down the mountain to her house.  We had family eating dinner with us every night and Bill’s sister, Melanie and her kids stayed with us for the majority of the week.  It was a lot of fun.  We had a strange encounter with a deer or I should say Bill did.  There was a doe that seemed to hang out at the campground.  We would see her every day.  One morning she came up while we were eating breakfast and just stood there.  Then later in the afternoon she got brave and tried to eat a cookie off of the table.  The same afternoon while Bill was in the hammock he looked up and saw whiskers.  Yep, it was the deer sniffing him.  Sorry no pictures on that one.  Couldn’t grab the camera fast enough, but it really did happen.  We enjoyed the 24th of July parade. The kids loved it because they get candy and other fun treats.  The family reunion was great and was capped off with Grandpa Hurst singing some songs to the delight of all in attendance.  We are enjoying being so close to our families and look forward to making many more memories.

On June 29th, we headed to New Mexico.  It was a good trip and gave me an idea what it will be like for the trips back and forth to my parents’ house.  It was exciting to finally be in New Mexico after so many months of anticipation.  We got to the base and promptly went to Sonic – my favorite. 🙂  We saw our house after only seeing pictures and well I can’t say I was excited at first, but it has grown on me.  The views are great. We live in a small town. It has a Super WalMart, a Smith’s grocery store and a Walgreen’s. There is also a McDonald’s & a Dairy Queen. Not much, but we like it.  We went to our new ward and the people are awesome. We got a great reception and we are looking forward to getting to know the people in our ward better.  I think we are going to like it here.

We spent a week with my parents in Oklahoma before heading west to New Mexico.  It was really hot when we were there, but we did get out and try to see some sites.  We visited the Wichita MountainWildlife Refuge. The Refuge provides habitat for large native grazing animals such as American Bison, Rocky Mountain Elk, and white tailed deer. Texas Longhorn Cattle also share the Refuge rangelands as a cultural and historical legacy species. More than 50 mammal, 240 bird, 64 reptile and amphibian, 36 fish, and 806 plant species thrive on the refuge.  It’s a really neat place to visit. So if you are ever in Southwestern Oklahoma, check it out.  Oh and don’t forget to go to Meers, Oklahoma for a Meers Burger. You won’t be disappointed.

While we were traveling to New Mexico, we stopped in Dayton, Ohio and visited the Museum of the Air Force at Wright-Patterson.  It’s a really neat museum and a must for aviation enthusiasts.  We didn’t have a lot of time so we spent about an hour or so.  I got to see the helicopter my dad flew in during the Vietnam War. It’s called the H-43 or the Pedro.  It was really neat to see it in person since I have heard stories about it all of my life.  We also found a B-24 Bomber that has the squadron patch that Bill’s current squadron has.  That was a pretty neat discovery.  We really enjoyed this mini excursion on our third day of traveling. 

We are here! We have made it to the land of enchantment.  We started out on June 17 (which seems so long ago) and stopped in Pennsylvania to see some great friends.  We had a great time. Billy especially loved that their son had an X-Box. He ran into the living room and said, “Mommy, I am going to play with the big boy who has an X-Box.”  He didn’t want to leave the next morning.  We headed to Dayton, Ohio for our pit stop.  The next day before heading to St. Louis, we went to the Air Force Museum.  I am so glad we made the detour.  We got to see the helicopter my dad flew in during the Vietnam War.  I had only seen a black and white picture and this was the real deal.  After the museum, we headed for St. Louis and spent the weekend with friends.  I felt horrible on Sunday and slept most of the day. Then on Monday, we were ready to go and head for Oklahoma.  I don’t know what it is about Oklahoma, but once I crossed the state line and saw the huge sign welcoming us to Oklahoma, I felt great.  We spent the week with my parents. We went to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge and just hung out.  It was really hot, but cherry limeade slushes from Sonic helped.  Then yesterday, we made our way to New Mexico.  We are happy to finally be here.  We saw the house we are renting and it is pretty nice.  I am looking forward to getting settled. Living like a nomad has been fun at times, but it is starting to wear us down.  The boys have been real troopers, but I know they will be glad to get settled, too.  We will keep you updated plus I will post pictures of our different adventures along the way.  We appreciate all of the prayers and good thoughts that have been coming our way.